Abstract
The glial cells of the cerebral cortex were examined and counted in 60-80g rats by light and electron microscopy and compared to those described in the corpus callosum by MORI and LEBLOND.
The oligodendrocytes represented about 50% of all glial cells in the cortex and were less numerous than in the corpus callosum. They showed the three subtypes, light, medium dense and dense described in the corpus callosum. The cells seemed to be less variable and more rounded with less dense chromatin and more numerous microtubules than in the corpus callosum.
The astrocytes were also less variable, had somewhat less cytoplasm and shorter processes with fewer bundles of filaments than those in the corpus callosum. They comprised about 35% of all cerebral glial cells.
The microglial of the cortex was classified into interstitial and pericytal as in the corpus callosum. The interstitial microglia appeared about twice more than in the corpus callosum, but the frequency of cells per unit area was almost the same as in the corpus callosum. The microglial nucleus showed similar to that in the corplus callosum, but often with less cytoplasm around it than in the corpus callosum. The pericytal microglia numbered less than the interstitial ones and showed no significant difference from those described in the corpus callosum.
